Healthy teeth into old age: a wish that can become a reality with the right dental care.
You should adhere to the following dental care routine every day.
In children, the main focus is on caries prophylaxis.
Later, when the dentition is a bit older, many people tend to struggle with gum and periodontal diseases, changes in the oral mucosa, but also functional disorders such as clenching or grinding their teeth.
Like children, adults should therefore have a check-up at the dentist at least once a year
.
This recognizes tooth decay, an incipient periodontal disease or misaligned teeth * and can prevent painful and costly therapies through early treatment.
"Whether and where you should optimize your oral hygiene or with which type of toothbrush, you can ask your family dentist, for example.
B. experienced in the context of a professional teeth cleaning ”, recommends the University of Greifswald.
According to the Baden-Württemberg Association of Statutory Health Insurance Dentists KZVBW, professional tooth cleaning (PZR) is a sensible service.
But this is an individual health service, IGeL for short, for which the health insurance companies in Germany are not liable.
As the consumer advice center informs, the PZR is always a private service, but many health insurances subsidize it voluntarily
.
After weighing up the benefits and harms, the IGeL-Monitor rates the PZR as “unclear” because the scientists did not find a reliable study that proves a benefit, according to the consumer advice center.
However, this does not apply to people with a high risk of periodontitis.
+
Dentists recommend flossing once a day.
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Brush your teeth twice a day and floss once: Instructions for daily dental care
If you take the following tips to heart, you will prevent tooth decay and ensure healthy gums:
According to the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), the German Dental Association recommends
brushing your teeth with a fluoride-containing toothpaste for at least two to three minutes twice a day
.
The following applies: Always sweep from “red to white” so that bacteria do not get under the gumline.
Be careful not to use too much pressure to brush as this can damage the enamel.
Choose the right toothbrush: If you
prefer to
brush
with a manual toothbrush, the bristles should be made of plastic (nylon)
, as the University of Greifswald informs you.
Natural bristles, on the other hand, are not recommended because they have a medullary canal that can serve as an ideal breeding ground for bacteria.
When it comes to the hardness of the bristles, you should pay attention to medium-hard bristles and use toothbrushes with soft bristles for very sensitive gums.
If you use a
round-oscillating, electric toothbrush
, you should stay on the tooth surface for two to five seconds, giving it enough time to clean the tooth surface, according to the University of Greifswald.
In addition, you should turn the brush head as far as possible into the interdental space and thus clean tooth by tooth and surface by surface one after the other.
With the
sound-active toothbrush,
on the other hand, small movements on the neck of the tooth with stroking towards the chewing surface would be sufficient.
"If the bristle field deviates from the original shape or after two to three months at the latest, you should
replace
the
brush
", is the recommendation of the University Medical Center Greifswald.
In addition, you should
clean
the
spaces between your teeth
once a day
.
According to TK, this is so important because brushing with a toothbrush only cleans around 70 percent of the tooth surface.
What the bristles do not achieve sufficiently are the often narrow spaces between the teeth, which are therefore particularly prone to tooth decay and periodontitis.
To get rid of food residues and bacterial biofilm, you should therefore use dental floss for narrow spaces between teeth and interdental brushes for larger gaps between teeth.
After consuming acidic food and drinks such as orange, pineapple or grapefruit, you should
wait at least 30 minutes before cleaning
, informs the health insurance company DAK Gesundheit.
(jg)
* Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
More sources: https://www.kzvbw.de/patienten/haeufige-fragen/prophylaxe/;
https://www.verbüberszentrale.de/wissen/gesundheit-pflege/
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